Sodium content in Huel

I have a question concerning the sodium content in Huel. It seems to me, that the 1g of salt in Huel is on the very low end of possible salt intakes. It’s equivalent to 400mg of Sodium. I have read that an optimal sodium intake would be around 1500mg, and the minimum would be 500mg per day. So your sodium content is even below the minimum. Now when I do sports and transpirate a lot, don’t I need even more salt then? Couldn’t this become dangerous?

Thanks for your answer! I have tried Huel and apart from that concern, I get along with it quite well. 1,7kilo bags are very unhandy though. How am I supposed to travel with this?? I will have to repack the pouder into handy portions… :wink:

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Thanks for this comment. It has been raised before. Whilst we see the low salt/sodium as a positive, we are tweaking it slightly upwards in the next batch, but not too much.

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Hi @JonnyT, we pondered over the pouch size for some time. Unfortunately there isn’t a size to fit all requirements. Some brands use a 2000 cals pouch but if you use more than 2000 cals per day you would need to carry two pouches. Plus there is the extra waste, 7 pouches to be thrown away instead of 2 slightly larger ones, none of which can be recycled.

If enough customers prefer the 2000 cal pouches we can switch to them.

I agree with you, that low sodium is good. Especially when you eat a regular meal every now and then, it should be perfect because every regular meal propably contains a lot more than 1500mg. I am just concerned about the case that someone exclusively consumes Huel…

Concerning the pouch size I did not want to say that I dont like the big bags. It’s something different and has all the advantages you talk about. If it would be possible to offer smaller sizes though, maybe even meal-sized bags, I would maybe choose those because they are easier to carry around and travel with. For now, I will just get some container in which I can carry the pouder with me. Maybe such a container would be an idea for your shop?

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@JonnyT Good idea I will look into it.

After being on Huel for a week now, I agree that some form of container designed to carry a meals worth might be good. Id like to say i love the massive bags Huel comes in (much less waste). That definitely shouldn’t change.

My preference for a container in the shop would be one designed to carry a days worth (not a meal), as I’m often out for a day at a time. I’ve personally started using these small locknlocks from morissons nearby (small round containers). These do the job quite well. Though id prefer something a little flatter and more square for transport in my bag.

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@majora13 how about this:

Size: W 14.9cm x D 15.4cm H 4.4cm

https://www.ocado.com/webshop/product/Sistema-Plastic-Sandwich-Boxes-450ml-Assorted-Colours/60619011

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@Julian - That would work quite well.

@majora13 some more ideas here: One week in - some thoughts

I would like going back to the original issue of low salt content.

If we are 100% huel, should we eat some salt?

Here is what I heave read on the internet: You will be able to survive on the amount of salt in Huel if you go 100%. It will be better for your heart health though, if you consume 1500mg of sodium a day (huel has only 400mg). That would mean that you would have to add 2,75 grams of salt per day to the 1 gram already present in Huel. If thats wrong, please correct me. Im not an expert at all.

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It seems like with the new label, the sodium content hugely improved. Huel has now 1,3g of sodium. In comparision to a safe daily minimal intake of 0.5g per day, this should now be enough sodium even when consuming Huel explicitely :smile:

Consider these huge benefits our society could gain from this kind of low daily salt intake:

“One estimate suggested that if the U.S. population moved to an average intake of 1,500 mg/day sodium from its current level, it could result in a 25.6% overall decrease in blood pressure and an estimated $26.2 billion in health care savings. Another estimate projected that achieving this goal would reduce deaths from CVD by anywhere from 500,000 to nearly 1.2 million over the next 10 years.”

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/NutritionCenter/HealthyEating/Frequently-Asked-Questions-FAQs-About-Sodium_UCM_306840_Article.jsp

The new minor tweaks have addressed the sodium issue

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By supplying more than the maximum recommended daily amount. I’m 100% Huel and starting to find it dehydrating. Doesn’t taste of salt but leaves you feeling like you’ve just eaten a bag of salted peanuts. When are Huel going to address this? Been a while now and still nothing official. Good businesses get ahead of issues like this and keep people informed even if they don’t have answers. Please please please, for the sake of Huel make some sort of statement - event if it’s just these are the options and here is the timetable. I know a couple of people who’ve stopped ordering and if I wasn’t on a low cal diet I’d have to drop it too. Huel has a lot of devotees and has built itself a lot of positive feeling - the longer the silence, the more this is eroded.

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I have 8 bags coming today and a bit worried about the changes, will post my thoughts when I start using them. I though there would be something more official posted so a bit disappointed and nearly cancelled my subscription.
EDIT: Mixed up one shake for tomorrow and consistency seems the same. I’ll have it for lunch and see how it tastes.

I’m now using V2.0 (vanilla flavour), and the higher salt content (1.3% compared to 0.7%) is a disappointment. I’m having to drink a lot more water and sometimes even take painkillers to stave off headaches on a level that I wasn’t doing before with V1. I appreciate that Huel is trying to cater for everyone’s needs at once, but as a ‘target user’, i.e. someone who wants quick healthy food on the go, having to gulp down extra water to counter the dehydration from the higher salt content is very inconvenient, not to mention it makes me feel bloated and sluggish. I sincerely hope the salt content will be revised downwards, because a lot of the appeal for me has been lost with V2.0.

@aduffell85 this is a common issue that people are complaining about it, and they have decided that they’ll certainly be reducing the salt content in V2.1

Thanks a lot for that.

Huel v2.1 is now available for purchase.

This version has had sodium fluoride removed. The salt is at the same level since we reduced it in September.

I had an incling that the salt was super low because when I consume Huel I get mad salt cravings and I find that I have to consume crisps or salted peanuts to compensate